Thursday, April 11, 2013

Sentences with Aggravating Role Enhancements and Upward Departure Affirmed in Alien Smuggling and Money Laundering Case

United States v. Chon, No. 11-50143 (Apr. 10, 2013) (Higginbotham, Smith, Elrod) (per curiam)

The panel affirmed convictions for alien smuggling, money laundering, and aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return despite challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence. Two defendants also challenged the reasonableness of their sentences.

The panel rejected Garcia-Rico’s argument that the district court erred in imposing a three-level enhancement (§ 3B1.1(b)) for his alleged role as a manager or supervisor of the conspiracy in light of the unrebutted facts in his PSR that "Garcia-Rico received wired monetary payments from alien smugglers that were then used to smuggle, transport, and harbor illegal aliens." Chon also challenged his four-level enhancement (§ 3B1.1(a)) for being a leader or organizer of the money-laundering offense, but the panel affirmed given the evidence in the record.

The panel found, however, that the district court procedurally erred by not explaining the upward departure of forty-five months for Chon’s sentence. Chon did not object before the district court, so this was subject to plain error review. The district court only made a passing reference to § 3553(a) and did not provide any explanation for the sentence it selected. In the statement of reasons, however, the court indicated that it was departing "for reasons authorized by the sentencing guidelines manual" and then selected the box indicating that the sentence was based upon the government motion for upward departure. While this was clearly erroneous, the panel held that it did not affect Chon’s substantial rights since the government’s motion extensively discussed the rationale for recommending the statutory maximum for each count of conviction.

So, be sure to object in district court to unreasonable sentences. Otherwise, a judge’s mere checking of a box and the government’s arguments in a motion or in the PSR will be sufficient for appellate review.

Labels: , , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home